"A few weeks ago, after the news leaked that the Red Sox had made a three-year contract offer to New York Yankees great Mariano Rivera, manager Terry Francona was asked if he felt a need to call closer Jonathan Papelbon to make sure there weren't any hard feelings.

"He may not even know," Francona said jokingly.

Call it comic relief.

It was funny because it seemed plausibly true. Over the past five years, Papelbon has proven to be, well, different. He famously claimed that his dog ate the ball with which the Red Sox clinched the 2007 World Series, and last winter, he insisted he didn't know about the signings of right-hander John Lackey and outfielder Mike Cameron until weeks after they happened."